Such a Pretty Tomboy
by xMichelleMyBellex
Summary: Ella is a tomboy growing up around the feminine women of 1940s America. One day, she finds her self in a beautiful world.... Edmund/OC but not until about chapter 4... Multiple genres, too
1. the tomboy

Hi, readers! I've been on a bit of a hiatus, but I've decided that I need to write again.

Disclaimer- I wish I owned the Chronicles of Narnia, but not even my twisted imagination could come up with this stuff!

Ella sat at her desk. Finally, it was her last day of school forever. The year would be over, and then she would tell her parents she was dropping out of school. She knew what her mother would say…

"You're sixteen years old! How dare you make such a decision by yourself! You could have gone to a university! Not many young girls do that, young lady!"

Ella loved her mother, she really did. But she knew that her mother didn't care why she was going to leave school. She didn't fit in, for one. But her true dream was to sing. She wanted to travel the country and have wealthy people listen to her on their record players. Now, she wasn't poor by a long stretch. But after the stock market crash, her mother had stopped making good meals and buying frilly things for Ella to wear. How excited would she be when she would get a check in the mail for thousands of dollars?

She turned her thoughts back to the sadist teacher at the front of the room. Why, on the last day of school, was there class? She attempted to stay awake as the teacher wrote a useless math problem on the board. When Ella established that she knew the answer, she laid her head on her desk and began to dream.

"Ella!" a girl's voice hissed. "Ella, my darling friend! Class is over, and Sally and Anne and I are going to the beach! You should go; it is going to be so fun!"

Ella looked up at a tall blond girl named Clara. They had been best friends for 5 years, and had become friends with Sally and Anne, two other girls who only seemed interested in boys, 2 years ago. Ella just grunted as she picked up her schoolbag and followed her friends out of the classroom.

Ella walked slowly behind her friends on the beach, who, as usual, were hoping to attract boys with their skimpy bathing suits. "Ella!" Anne turned around and let her strawberry blond hair fly around. "Catch up with us, will you? You seem as if you're one of those people who follows girls and then kills them!"

Ella walked quickly to Anne. "You know, you shouldn't yell things like that in a public place."

"Anyway, we were just talking about you, Eleanor." Anne ignored Ella and used her full name. "We were just saying how you underestimate yourself. You're the most slender out of all of us but you just hide your ridiculously small waist."

"And we were also talking about how lucky we are that you hate group dates. If you ever brought Kevin on a date with us, our boyfriends would never even look at us!" Sally said with her usual giggle.

Ella glared at the girls. Why did everyone always want her to be so feminine and pretty? She remembered when the girls had forced her into a chair and made her wear red lipstick. They had gasped because "she looked so gorgeous," but Ella had been furious. She ignored them for a week.

"Oh, look at the time!" Clara looked at her wristwatch. "I suppose we should leave."

"Good. I really don't enjoy having foolish men gawk at us. It's degrading." Ella quickly slipped into her blouse and men's trousers and left her friends behind her.

Ella looked at her home. Brown like mud. She sighed. She had to leave. Her parents would be angry and sad, but she knew deep down that she had to. She slipped into the house. No one was home. She ran up to her room and grabbed her trusty pocket knife, all of the money she could find, her grandmother's jewelry box filled with her most special possessions, one change of clothes, and even the red lipstick she had been forced to wear. She examined her face in the mirror. She uncapped the lipstick and applied it. She didn't look any prettier, but she definitely looked older. She threw everything in her now empty school bag and grabbed her guitar. It was time for her to leave.

The wind blew her scarf in her face. It was cool for a summer day, so all of the taxis were taking people home. "Taxi!" she bellowed again. No luck. She went back to the park where she had been sitting and took out her guitar. She left the case open, hoping someone would give her some money. She sang as well as she could, but people just looked at her. She knew what they were thinking: _Who is this young homeless girl wearing red lipstick? And why is she sitting in our beautiful park?_

Ella tried to smile at the wealthy little children, hoping they would convince their parents to give her a simple dollar from their overflowing leather wallets. No 

such luck. She suddenly felt the wind pick up. The sun became increasingly bright. Her dirty hair flew about like a whiplash. Before she knew it, she wasn't in 1940s American anymore.


	2. a beautiful world

A/N- So I know I'm updating pretty quickly. Trust me; I want to know what happens next as much as the rest of you because I'm basically writing whatever pops into my head.

Ella fell on a forest floor with a thud. For a tiny girl, she made a surprisingly loud noise. Her guitar, suddenly back in its case, landed with a thud on her lap.

"Oh, hell! What have I done now?" Ella looked around. She had no idea where she was, or where she was going. But someone, or some_thing_, was telling her to run. So she kept her pocketknife close and she ran. She noticed her hair smelled terrible. At least she had the red lipstick on. The forest smelled like grass and flowers, and sunlight just barely poked through the leaves on the trees, lighting her path. She immediately slowed down when she ran into someone.

"Oy! Watch where you're going!" Ella scrambled up to see who was yelling at her. It was a boy. Oh, no. Not a boy. Ella hated talking to boys more than anything. Especially when the boy was as handsome as the one she had run into.

"Who are _you?_" Ella demanded.

"I'm King Edmund, and I would like to know what you're doing running through the forest like a madwoman!"

"What fool decided to make you a king?" Ella scoffed. Her heart was pounding. The boy was much taller than her with dark hair. Fantastic. Now she had gotten into an argument with an almost six-foot-tall king.

"I did." A thundering voice said behind her. Ella turned around to see a huge talking lion behind her.

"Oh, well, um, then I'm sure he deserves it. You seem like a very wise man, I mean, lion, so I'll trust your opinion. Now if you'll just excuse me…"

"Not so fast." Edmund grabbed Ella as she proceeded to run into him again. "Now, I'll ask you two questions: One, how did you get here? And two, why does your hair smell as if you haven't bathed for a week?" Edmund made a face.

"Well, before I decide if I want to answer your questions, I'll introduce myself. I'm Ella. Now, I'm not sure how I got here, and, to answer your second question, you're right. I haven't washed my hair in exactly 5 days."

"Aslan, what shall we do with her? She's a bit smelly, and I would like to find out exactly how she ended up in Narnia." Edmund looked to the huge talking lion for guidance.

"Well, Edmund, I suppose we must take her back to the castle. I'm sure if she was transported here to Narnia she must be here for a reason. Come now, Ella. Stop being so stubborn and tell us a bit about yourself."

Before Ella knew it, she was at the most beautiful castle she had ever seen. Well, it was the first castle she had ever seen, but it was beautiful anyway. Aslan the lion and Edmund the stuck-up stupid king had taken her somewhere, although Ella wasn't exactly sure where they had taken her.

"Now you see, Ella, there are 3 other people of royalty here in Narnia besides Edmund. There is High King Peter and the Queens Susan and Lucy. I look over these four kings and queens and help them when they need me."

"Yeah, they're my siblings. We came to Narnia a while ago. Now hurry up, I'm sure Lucy will just love meeting a new person."

"Peter! Susan! Lucy! Someone's here!" Edmund yelled in a very un king-like way.

Ella heard the sound of feet racing down the stairs, and a young girl ran toward her and gave her a hug. "Hello there! My name's Lucy! What's your name?"

"Hi, Lucy. My name is Ella. And before you ask, I have no idea how I got here."

"Now hold on, everyone," Peter said, taking charge. "Let us all go around and say our names and how old we are. My name is Peter. I'm eighteen years old."

"Hello, dear. My name is Susan and I'm seventeen." The older sister said with a polite smile.

Edmund just glared at her. "You already know me. I'm sixteen."

Lucy gave Ella a huge smile. "I've already told you my name, and I'm fourteen years old!" The girl seemed so young and innocent despite her age.

"How nice to meet you all. Now that we've been introduced, I should be going on my way. I have things to attend to." Ella turned on her heel but came to a screeching halt when she heard Lucy's sad little voice.

"Ella, you're already leaving? But won't you be lost?" the youngest sibling sniffled.

"That is absolutely unheard of, Ella. You'll be staying with us, of course. Now, where should she stay?" Ella somehow understood she shouldn't protest after Susan had made her decision.

Susan and Lucy led Ella up a long staircase. "Your home is lovely. May I ask if it has a name?"

"Cair Paravel! Isn't it the loveliest place in the world?" Lucy almost tripped up the stairs with enthusiasm.

"This is your room, Ella. You also have your own bathroom. I mean no offense, but you should really wash your hair." Susan wrinkled her nose.

Ella observed her lovely room in awe. There was an armoire and a vanity and a bed with a canopy…and the most beautiful glass doors leading to a beautiful balcony. She couldn't believe she was going to be staying in such an amazing place. The two sisters left her to unpack. She put her extra clothes in the armoire and went to go see the bathroom. There was a mirror and she observed her hair. It really was terrible. She locked the door behind her and proceeded to wash her hair vigorously. When she was done she looked at her face in the mirror. She was shocked at her appearance. She had never looked better. Her red lipstick has stayed intact after her washing and her hair was so clean. She gave her reflection a winning smile and went to go change her clothes. She noticed something bunched up in the small heap of clothes at the bottom of the armoire. A dress? She didn't even know she owned a dress. She could tell it was from the other world, because it wasn't as regal as Susan and Lucy's dresses. She put on the dress and her royal blue cardigan, surprisingly clean, and went to go speak to the siblings.

"Oh, Edmund, you shouldn't be so –" Susan was cut off when she saw lovely Ella, actually clean, at the bottom of the stairs. "Ella, dear, you look so much prettier! Now come eat something. You're far too tiny for a girl with such a strong personality."

Ella ate a roll of bread and drank a large goblet of wine but refused to eat any more. She didn't want to feel like she was intruding where she shouldn't be. After all, she was already staying in their home.

"So, Susan, where did you decide to put the stubborn waif?" Edmund looked at his sister.

"Oh, Edmund, it's none of your business! Give the thing some privacy." Susan avoided his question.

"Oh, no you didn't give her the room down the hall from mine! Susan, I need my privacy!" Edmund was shocked. He disliked the girl already, and now he was being forced to be neighbors with her?

Ella glared at Edmund. When he looked back at her he almost blushed. Susan was right; she looked much better when she didn't look homeless. But he couldn't think of that. He hated her, didn't he?

"Well, Edmund, maybe you won't be so cranky if you make a friend." Peter spoke to him like a child.

No one had noticed Ella has crept back upstairs. Peter and Susan and Lucy were so kind, but she couldn't stand being around Edmund for more than a few moments. She decided to look around the castle a bit. The shiny satin polka dots on her dress reflected light onto the walls. There were portraits of a few people and a few locked doors. Ella suddenly came across a rather large door and opened it. She found a vast library that smelled like leather inside.

"You seem to get lost everywhere, don't you?" Ella turned around to see Edmund behind her. They narrowed their eyes at each other.

"I'm a guest here. You shouldn't be so rude. So, whose idea was it to have such a large library? Surely it wasn't yours. You're a fool."

"Actually, I'm the one who uses this room most. Maybe you shouldn't speak before you know all of the facts."

"Oh, whatever. If you're going to be so rude I don't even want to talk to you." Ella went to go see more of the rooms.

"You know, Ed, you shouldn't be so mean to her." Lucy looked through the shelves for a book. When she found what she was looking for, she sat down in an 

armchair and read aloud, "Did you know that 'Ella' is an English name that means 'beautiful fairy woman'?" she raised her eyebrows at her brother, who proceeded to blush a bit.

Edmund went to go apologize to Ella.

A/N: Whew! That was a bit longer than the first chapter. So, what should happen next? We don't want anything to happen too fast, do we? Unless if you guys really want the sappy romance stuff really soon, I might another chapter or two to have anything happen between our squabbling, moody 16-year-olds.


	3. an epiphany

A/N: I'm back with yet another exciting, frustrating chapter of _Such a Pretty Tomboy. _I want to thank hpswst101 so much for being the first person to review! (And, of course, I want to thank everyone else who reviewed.) Now, on to the story…

Edmund went to go look for Ella. Despite the fact that she was rude, sarcastic, disrespectful, had beautiful eyes…Wait, what? She had horrible eyes! Or that's at least what Edmund had tried to convince himself. Anyway, despite her terrible personality, he thought he should apologize. After all, he was a king, and the rest of his siblings adored her. Susan had even dared to call her "charmingly humble!"

"Watcha looking for?" a voice said as he hurried past a room. It was Ella, with a smirk on her unnaturally red lips.

"Actually, I was looking for you. Might I come in? I didn't realize that you were staying in this room." Edmund glanced at the floor.

"The noble king Edmund is allowing me to be in his presence? How truly shocking." Ella said sarcastically. "Well, I suppose you can come in."

Edmund sat in the chair in front of Ella's vanity. The only think on it was a tube of red lipstick and a brush that Edmund knew wasn't hers.

"So what do you want?" Ella paced the floor.

"I actually came here to apologize to you."

Ella's eyes widened. "Apologize? Why do you suddenly feel the need to apologize?"

"I thought I should… Well, to be honest I'm not completely sure. Something just seemed to dawn on me, I suppose." Edmund looked at Ella, who was laughing a bit.

"You silly boy! You mean you had an _epiphany?_ How very deep." She covered her mouth to stifle a loud laugh.

"Well, at least I don't laugh like a horse!" Edmund retorted.

"Well at least I don't bitch and complain like a hormonal teenaged girl!" Ella folded her arms across her chest.

"What, are you saying I act like you?"

"Girly boy."

"Horse."

"Ugh!" Ella threw her arms up in the air. "Well, at least I don't have that annoying accent you have." She launched into a scarily accurate British accent. "Oy! What 'ave we got 'ere? Oh, it's a little boy who thinks he's a man!"

"Well, for one, Ella, we're the same age. And two, you sound like someone from England who can't even spell their own name."

Ella's lip twitched. Edmund's last comment was almost a bit funny. "Well, you've apologized, so you can leave if you wish."

"If you want me to, I guess I will. You're clever, aren't you?"

Edmund turned to leave. Before he left, he turned around and said, "Oh, Ella? I really am sorry."

Ella listened to him walk away. She closed the door behind him and slid down the wall. It seemed that the more Edmund annoyed her, the fonder she became of him. "Some say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I think hatred does," she said aloud to herself. She looked out the window and finally realized that it was getting late. Perfect. She loved taking walks at night. (A/N: No, there won't be any predictable moonlight kissing scene. As much as I want there to be one, I promised myself that this story would be different. Sorry.) Should she simply climb down from the balcony, or walk through the castle and risk seeing Edmund again? She noticed something on the brush on her vanity. It was a small note.

_Ella,_

_Don't try to convince me that you brush your hair. _

_-Edmund_

Ella tossed the note and rolled her eyes, but she couldn't fight the smile that played around her lips. So she picked up the note and placed it back on the vanity with a smile.

Meanwhile, Susan and Lucy were talking. Although Lucy was honestly doing the majority of the talking.

"We simply must get Edmund and Ella together! They're so very similar, and it's quite obvious that Ella fancies him. Don't you agree, Susan?" Lucy jumped on Susan's bed.

"I know, it does seem like underneath their childish bickering, they like each other quite a bit. Edmund just wants to seem 'tough' because Ella has such a stubborn personality. But we know he is much nicer than he's showing her," Susan smiled at Lucy.

"We could have a ball!" Lucy exclaimed.

"No, no. Not a ball. Too many other men will flock to Ella, despite her attitude. I don't think Edmund would dare to talk to her." Susan furrowed her brow.

"Oh, but we must think of something!" Lucy pleaded with her sister. "I quite like Ella. She doesn't realize that she's really very nice."

"We will, Lucy. Fate is watching over those two. Something will happen." Susan smiled.

In another room……

"Peter, that girl is infuriating! She insulted me after I apologized to her!" Edmund ranted.

"Have you ever thought that you might be the infuriating one? Besides, she is an honestly nice girl. I think she's just struggling to get used to the fact that she was transported to another world out of the blue," Peter said knowingly to his younger brother.

There was suddenly a knock at the door. A guard entered, out of the breath. "High King Peter! We're being attacked by the remainder of the White Witch's followers! They're heading straight for Cair Paravel!"

Edmund and Peter looked at each other. "Summon the troops, and tell Susan what's happening. Tell Lucy to stay with Ella." Peter dismissed the guard.

Peter's face darkened with worry over the people of Narnia. Edmund could only think of Ella.

A/N: Well, that's the end of chapter 3. A bit short, I know, but it was honestly a filler chapter so I could get to the turning point of Edmund and Ella's relationship. There won't be any ridiculous making out in the next chapter or anything. But I think our pretty little tomboy Ella is going to realize something about our friend Edmund.


	4. the call

A/N: So I'm not sure what I'm doing about this chap because I'm supposed to be doing other stuff. So I hope you guys won't hate me if the chapter sucks. Blame my writer's block!

Disclaimer: I don't own Regina Spektor's "The Call." Or Narnia. Or Skandar Keynes. Very sad indeed.

Lucy ran into Ella's room. "Oh, Ella! The strangest thing happened!"

Ella let Lucy sit next to her. "What's up, Lucy?"

"Well… A long time ago there was an evil witch that everyone called the White Witch. She turned Narnia into winter, but there was no Christmas and no presents. Anyway, she tricked Edmund into helping her, and then she tried to kill us! Then, Aslan helped us and we defeated her. But I suppose some people still wish she was ruling Narnia, because some of her followers have decided to attack us. Peter and Edmund and Susan will be going off to fight, but I'm scared, and they don't want me to fight anyway. So I have to stay with you." Lucy took a breath.

"Oh, my. That was quite a speech for one breath! Do you know why I'm not fighting with them? I've got a pocketknife." Ella looked at the younger girl.

"You're our guest! I'm sure we'll outnumber them, anyway. But they'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

"Edmund is going?" Ella looked out the open window. The wind dreamily blew her hair across her face.

"Why, of course he is! He's a boy, so he has to fight." Lucy grinned at Ella. "Why do you ask?"

Ella blushed and stood up. "I just think he's too much of a fool to be trusted fighting dangerous people… or animals."

"Well, now that they'll be preparing to leave, I'll be bored. So I want to find some dresses for you to wear! Come on! It will be fun!" Lucy tugged on the older girl's hand. Ella noticed that despite their age difference, she was barely taller than Lucy.

"But I don't like dresses! They're for feminine people, like you and your sister. I dress like a boy." Ella protested.

"Oh, hush! Let's go! I promise I won't pick anything too girly. Okay?" Lucy grinned at Ella.

"Fine. But I'm not going to promise that I'll wear them."

Lucy led her down countless halls and up and down multiple staircases. Ella laughed at how tired she was getting. "Lucy, how can you live here? It's too much work to simply find a dress!"

"Don't worry, Ella, we're finally here!" Lucy brought her into a small room. A large chest sat in a corner. "Susan and I found these dresses a long time ago, but they were too small for her and too large for me! Which ones would you like?"

"Lucy, I couldn't just take these. They're not even mine."

"Well, they're not ours, either. I'll pick the first one myself!" Lucy pulled out a velvety- looking black dress. "It has no beading, embroidery, or bows, but it's lovely. Like you!" Lucy draped the dress over Ella's shoulder and continued looking.

"Oh, goodness. Not that one. You can't make me wear that!" Ella gasped. Lucy was holding out a light green dress with off the shoulder sleeves. The back of the dress plunged downward. "It's…um… indecent! Yes, that's it! I couldn't possibly wear that in front of royalty." Ella turned to leave, but Lucy grabbed the back of her cardigan.

"Just take the dress Ella. Please? I'm sure Edmund will adore you in it." Lucy copied Ella's trademark smirk.

"What are you implying? I don't like Edmund! He's rude, and inconsiderate, and…" Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Oh, of course you don't like him. Please take the dress anyway. Sooner or later there will be a ball or something that you'll have to look nice for." Lucy placed the other dress firmly in Ella's hands.

Ella let out an exasperated sigh. She looked at the black dress and couldn't help feeling a flutter of excitement in her stomach. Maybe it wasn't so bad being a girly girl after all.

_**The next day……**_

Edmund and Peter finished putting on their armor and went to get Susan. As usual, Peter was going through his "I'm a confident king but I'm worried about our people" routine. Edmund picked at his fingernail.

"Is something the matter, Ed? You're awfully quiet."

"Nothing, Peter. I'm worried about the people of Narnia, too." Edmund lied.

Susan was waiting for her brothers. They were always a bit slow. "Lucy, you know you're staying with Ella while we're gone, right? Make sure she eats. I know she feels like she's being a burden, but she's not." Susan hugged her younger sister before she turned and left the room.

Ella looked down from her balcony. Peter, Susan, and Edmund were getting ready to leave, checking armor, and putting saddles on horses. Lucy ran out to say goodbye to them. She watched Edmund and felt a tinge of worry in her heart. He looked up at her and she looked away.

_"Just because everything's changing_

_Doesn't mean it's never been this way before_

_All you can do is try to know who your friends are_

_As you head off to the war."_

_**Outside of Cair Paravel……**_

Edmund looked up at Ella's balcony and did a double take. She was wearing a dress?! And not just any dress; a black, form-fitting dress. She noticed him looking and gave him a weary look. She muttered something, and Edmund realized she was singing. When she had finished, she looked back at him once more and went inside. Edmund scratched his head. "_What a strange girl…"_

"Ed! We're leaving!" Peter called. Edmund looked at his brother, then at the balcony. He turned away and got on his horse. "Let's go, then."

Ella scoffed. "What was he looking at? Gosh, he is so rude. He didn't say goodbye, but Peter and Susan did."

"Ella? Who are you talking to?" Lucy came in and sat down at the vanity. "Well, whoever you were talking to, it doesn't matter. Would you like to eat dinner?"

"Lucy, I've already told you that I refuse to take up your time. I'm already living in your home."

"If you insist. Shall we talk, then? It will be quite boring without the others here, won't it?"

"Yes, I suppose it will," Ella flicked a piece of hair from her face, "Well, at least without Peter and Susan. I don't want to offend you, Lucy, but I don't plan on missing your brother Edmund one bit."

Lucy gave Ella an unnerving stare. "You know, Edmund talks about you quite a bit, and he blushes whenever someone mentions your name."

Ella folded her arms and walked out onto the balcony. She couldn't see the other Pevensies anymore. "Your brother is a childish fool, and I don't want anything to do with him, Lucy. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but he is absolutely repulsive."

Lucy gave an exasperated sigh and went to go get something to eat.

Ella was alone in her room. She was sitting in front of the mirror, concentrating on her reflection. Was she an attractive person? It was difficult to say. Her eyebrows were a bit mannish, and she disliked her nose. Her skin was ghostly pale. On the other hand, she had large green eyes and her long hair looked nice when it was clean.

"ELLA! Please eat something!" Lucy called up the stairs.

Ella rolled her eyes at her reflection. She stood up and glanced down at the note Edmund had written her. She felt her cheeks flush. She had to stop this! Edmund was not only a king, he was immature and rude! She jumped when she heard a voice behind her.

"Ella, I'd be offended if you didn't have something to eat," Lucy tugged on the older girl's arm. Ella sighed and followed Lucy down the stairs.

"I've been trying to cook for hours! What were you doing up in your room?" Lucy said as she continued cooking. It smelled like something was burning.

"I was…thinking. That's all." Ella sat down at a chair. "Would you like help with that?" She lifted a pan off of the flame to stop whatever was inside of it from burning. "So, Lucy, do you cook by yourself often?"

"Well, I like to do my own cooking because I feel bad making other people cook for me. I'm already 14, so I should know how to do something of some importance."

Ella laughed. "I'm 16, and I can't do anything important! I think you're trying to grow up too fast."

Lucy looked at her. "I look up to Susan, and I don't think she grew up too fast."  
Ella smiled even though she disagreed with the young queen.

"So, you lived in America before you came to Narnia, right? I bet it was interesting," Lucy dumped something into a pot and the room began to smell like food.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Lu, but I never liked it. I seemed like I didn't fit in with the other girls and their perfect, pretty hair and their red lipstick. And the men were so full of themselves; they truly thought they were dapper gentlemen."

The girls finished their cooking and sat down to eat. They had light conversation about Narnia and dresses. Ella noticed that Lucy was naturally mature for her age, but she didn't need to force herself to grow up as much as she did. Suddenly, Lucy wanted to talk about Edmund. "Why do you dislike my brother so much? I thought you two would get along."

"Well, he's been rude to me since from the moment I met him. Does he always act like he's better than everyone? And he's so childish, and immature…" Ella realized she was ranting. Lucy giggled. The girls spent the night talking about silly trivial things, and Ella couldn't help but feel a stab of homesickness in her chest. What were her friends doing right now? Her parents might be home from work, or searching the city for her. Maybe they had forgotten about her and were sitting down to a nice pasta dish for dinner. What about Kevin? He had been her first serious boyfriend, and they both cared for each other deeply. Was he wondering why she had suddenly ended things with him? Were the police looking for her? Clara's father was a police officer. Clara's parents always seemed to like her, so perhaps they bothered to search for her? Ella's thoughts went to her house, muddy colored and tall. She had always loved her room. She had a sleigh bed and a wardrobe and a big bookcase all made of dark wood. There were paintings of famous music composers on the walls and a few photographs of her with friends and family. She remembered the wall in her room that she had taken hours to decorate. She had painstakingly painted music notes that formed an actual song all along the wall. Suddenly, she felt a warm, salty tear drip down her face.

"Ella, what's wrong? Are you worried? Is the food bad?" Lucy hurried to her side.

"Oh, Lu, it's nothing. I'm just feeling a bit homesick. Do you ever miss your home when you're here?"

"Oh, sure. Our house was a sweet little two-story thing, with flower boxes on the windowsills. I have a lot of memories in that house. Most of all, though, I miss my mother. Ever since the war, we went to live with this old man, who was quite kind but was never really around. He had a lovely large home, but it never really felt like home to us. I think it was because all of us missed Mother so much."

"Oh, Lucy, I'm sorry. I shouldn't even be upset. My woes in life are nothing compared to yours." Ella gave the younger girl a big smile. "Now, shall we clean this food up? I'm getting sleepy."

A/N: Oh, dear! It has been absolutely forever since I've updated! More was supposed to happen in this chapter, but since it's been a while I decided to wrap it up with some background info on Ella. I'm going to get started on the next chapter right away. Ciao, loves!


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